Chapter 4

Ryder had his people tie me up.

Right there, in front of all the guests.

"She offended you, Valerie. You can do whatever you want to her," Ryder told Valerie.

"Do as you please, don't hold back. I'll handle the Reed family."

Valerie looked into Ryder's eyes, which seemed to hold a smile, yet conveyed no emotion at all.

She pressed him.

"Any way I want?"

Ryder nodded, agreeing.

Valerie broke into a radiant smile, turning to me.

"Stella, I'm entering an international photography competition soon, and I think you'd make a perfect model for me. How about you cooperate and let me take a set of photos of you today?"

A bad feeling bloomed in my gut.

Valerie continued,

"But for this photo series... I need a boudoir model. Stella, if you change your mind, just apologize to me, say you shouldn't have slapped me, and I'll ask Ryder to let you go."

She sounded incredibly generous.

I hated Valerie's pretense most of all.

She was like this even in the orphanage.

Under five years old, Valerie with her sweet, innocent face would lie shamelessly to everyone, claiming she'd seen me steal cookies from the dining hall.

Later, we were both adopted, she by the Valerie family and I by the Reed family.

Valerie would smile innocently, telling everyone stories about me kissing boys for an egg in the orphanage.

I couldn't even count how many times Valerie had done things like that.

At first, I tried to explain, but everyone seemed to believe Valerie, the girl with good grades and a sweet face.

As if I, with my overly bright, aggressive looks, was born a villain.

I lifted my chin, staring at everyone.

"Apologize? Valerie, I only regret that slap didn't kill you. You want to strip me naked? Why don't you check your new husband's phone gallery? There are plenty of my..."

Before I could finish, Ryder kicked me!

A searing pain stole my breath, and I choked back the rest of the sentence: "my boudoir photos."

Ryder didn't wait for Valerie to speak. He just waved his hand.

"Valerie needs a model, doesn't she? Strip Stella and keep her that way until Valerie's finished shooting!"

His voice was cruel.

"After all, Miss Stella Reed's reputation... from eighteen to twenty-five, has never been good in Veridian City."

"Taking her clothes off in public today will just let everyone see how much 'capital' Miss Stella has for her wild ways!"

My mouth filled with the taste of blood.

I didn't know if it was from Ryder's slap or his kick.

I swallowed the bloody saliva, my eyes colder and more hateful than Ryder's.

"Young Master Sterling, you go ahead and strip me! Let everyone see the woman you've slept with for seven years..."

The words were cut short again by Ryder's fierce palm, turning my head violently, the rest of the sentence trapped in my throat.

My ears rang with the impact of the blow.

I let out a bitter laugh.

Just yesterday, I had still harbored fantasies.

Fantasies that Ryder and Valerie were just a family arrangement, that I was Ryder's true love, that Ryder would divorce Valerie and fulfill his promise to marry me in a month!

But today's events clearly showed me the truth: I was nothing but Ryder's plaything!

He had played me for seven whole years.

And now that he was done, on the eve of discarding me, he wanted to deliver a final, fatal blow!

A gasp rippled through the room as a massive shadow loomed over me.

I looked up. A bookshelf against the wall had lost its balance and was toppling towards me.

If it hit me full force, I'd either die or be crippled for life!

Ryder instinctively reached out to me, lying helpless on the floor.

If he just grabbed me, he could pull me out of the shadow of death.

But the instant his fingers brushed my collar, he abruptly changed direction, decisively sweeping Valerie, who was still some distance from the bookshelf, into his arms!

The last sliver of hope in my eyes completely vanished.

I closed my eyes, waiting for death.